He is my Sun....I am his Moon....our lives totally and completely revolve around each other. The woman I am today is because of the love he has had for me through out my adult life. I have shaped and molded the man he is, the way he loves, and how he is able to give his heart freely to me. Our relationship is what people dream of when they are looking for the love of their life. It is almost too good to be true. We have been together since 1993 in some way or form. Boyfriend/girlfriend, fiance/fiancee, friend/friend, husband/wife. Our lives have taken some turns but we have always ended up back together. Our meeting was purely happenstance...he was in jail, locked up for a crime he did NOT commit and I was spending the night with my cousin. Back then folks in jail would just call random numbers collect and see if someone would accept the call. His friend(loosely using this word) called my cousin's number and us being the foolish teenagers we were accepted the call. My cousin and this guy talked on the phone and when he was about to hang up, he said his friend wanted to talk to me. I was uneasy...never had really known anyone in jail but I talked to him and the connection was instant. He was quiet and reserved not like I imagined someone in jail would be. He told me upfront why he was there and I was shocked but it did not keep me from hoping I would talk to him again. We carried on our phone conversations for awhile. I was 17 so I could not visit him unless my mom accompanied me and I was pretty sure she would freak out if she knew I was talking to some random stranger in jail. So his mom would call me on three way and we would talk for hours and hours. He wrote me and I wrote him....every single day.....we would write and talk about future plans, what he would do once his trial was over and he would come home. We never imagined he would be convicted. We were young and so naive about the law and what people are truly capable of. I turned 18 and was finally able to visit him. The first time I went to see him, I had no idea what to expect. I signed in and was led down this hallway to a room with little booths and thick glass and little telephones....it was almost like something out of a movie. I stood there and waited for him to come out and there he was....he was taller than I had imagined but his eyes were kind and he was very handsome. We sat down, both of us nervous and picked up the phone. It was nice to have a conversation face to face even if it was through thick glass. I looked forward to our visits. This went on for several months till finally his trial date was here. WOW! His trial.....I was not prepared for the emotions I would have and the anxiety I would feel watching people who did not know him, judge him and have his destiny in their hands. I sat through his trial and listened as detectives and people from his neighborhood told a story of a young man I did not know. I was scared to say the least. His lawyer was not prepared....the story of a public defender and the prosecution ate him alive. At one point I was asked to leave the courtroom. I have no idea why. The trial lasted for several days. I was exhausted emotionally and physically so I can only imagine what he was feeling but we were still optimistic he would be found not guilty and be home soon. This was just something we would have to endure for the near future but there was no way he would be convicted. How stupid we were! I can remember the jury foreman reading the verdict...it was like time stood still....when he said guilty...I almost fainted. I can remember trying to be strong and not cry. I didn't want him to see me upset because I knew he would be stressed out about me being upset but as soon as he looked at me I could not hold the tears back any longer. My future had just been rocked....I had no more air in my lungs to breathe. I was scared and I didn't know what to do at that very moment. They led him away and I collapsed. I remember his mom helping me up and crying with me. Life had just played a cruel joke on me. I had no idea what was next. Fast forward 2014 he is still incarcerated and still fighting to come home. We have been on so many emotional roller coasters. We stayed together for several years after he was convicted. Me making long rides to visit for a few hours. Our first kiss we shared in prison. Life was not easy for either of us. He was still a teenager with a life sentence in one of the worst prisons in our state. We talked on the phone once or twice a week because phone calls were super expensive. I went to visit when I could but he was 4 hours away in the middle of nowhere and I did not have reliable transportation. It was hard, I will not lie but I was in love and wanted so bad for him to come home. He filed several appeals...all denied....he joined a gang and basically gave up the idea he would come home and I gave up on him. We seperated. Not long after I met and married someone else. We still kept in touch from time to time but once I was married I focused on my husband and thought it was best for us to not communicate. I was not in love with my husband but he was there and I knew I could build a life with him. I got pregnant and had a baby girl.....I named her Kaylee Alexandra....my husband never knew why I wanted to name her that....but Alexandra had been his name for me...I was his Princess Alexandra....and in my mind someway I thought she should be his daughter. My husband and I seperated not long after she was born. I ran into his mom and asked about him and she said he was okay. He had been moved to another prison that was worse than the first one. I told her to tell him I asked about him and to please write me. I sent him pictures of my babygirl and he was immediately taken....when I told him her name over the phone he cried. He knew the significance of the name. I went on with my life....a series of bad relationships and eventually had another little girl. Her father was by far the biggest regret of my life. I reached out to my soulmate once again to fill the void some other man had left and as usual he was there. Helping me emotionally, sending me money to take care of my girls, I would go visit and bring the girls with me. It was such an emotional time. I loved him and needed him but my youngest daughter's father was pursuing me hot and heavy and I gave in. Once again I walked away in order to be with someone on the streets. It was a HUGE mistake and I regret it to this day. We lost all contact. The next I would hear about him would be from his sister in 2009....he had gotten married. My heart broke. I remember grieving for him like he had died. I never imagined he would get married to anyone but me. I put him out of my mind and heart and moved on with my life. I was in an abusive relationship and just trying to survive daily. My life turned into survival mode. It was awful. One day at a time I picked up the pieces and tried to put my life back together for me and my girls. I got a good job, bought a house, but emotionally I was spent. I stayed single for many years and had just recently started dating again when fate would step in and we were reunited. He was no longer married and it just seemed like the stars had aligned and things were going to work out. He is still in incarcerated but is in the appeal process again. He has been offered time served and turned it down because he feels his life was taken from him. I want him home. We plan to get married in the near future and fight this battle together. He will come home soon regardless. This will be the journal of our struggle to get him here and the celebration of our love and life together. Stay tuned.
